Hazlet Parents Charged In Drug Overdose Of 1-Year-Old Son: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ — The parents of a 1-year-old boy have been charged with endangerment after the child experienced a suspected drug overdose in Hazlet Thursday, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said Friday.

The boy was revived by responding police officers and was in stable condition Friday. He is now safely in the custody of a relative, the prosecutor's office said.

The prosecutor also praised the responding officers' "grace under pressure" to save the boy's life.

Alexander Green, 28, and Rosalia Diasio, 23, are both charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, while Green is also charged with numerous related second- and third-degree drug offenses, the prosecutor's office said.

Shortly before noon on Thursday, Dec. 29, members of the Hazlet Police Department and Holmdel Township Police Department responded to the parking lot of a shopping plaza at Middle Road and Laurel Avenue for a report of a child undergoing a medical episode.

At that location, responding officers found the young victim suffering from a suspected opioid overdose. The officers administered naloxone to the child, reviving him, and transported him to a local hospital for emergency treatment, the prosecutor said in a news release.

A search of the defendants’ home resulted in the seizure of more than 1,000 suspected alprazolam pills, as well as quantities of suspected prescription amphetamines, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, ketamine, LSD, oxycodone, and psilocybin mushrooms.

Green was taken into custody, without incident, pending a detention hearing to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court.

Diasio was served the charges against her via a summons.

“As the national opioid epidemic has worsened, naloxone has become as much a fundamental component of a police officer’s daily toolkit as a flashlight or handcuffs – and yesterday’s events offer a textbook example of why that is,” Prosecutor Santiago said. “We recognize and commend these responding officers’ grace under pressure, which directly resulted in a young child’s life being saved.”

“A defining characteristic of the job of a police officer is never knowing what the next shift might have in store for you,” Hazlet Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Mulligan added.

“These responding officers never could have known that they would be so suddenly thrust into a pressure-packed, life-or-death situation yesterday morning, and the calm, collected fashion in which they conducted themselves was nothing short of extraordinary. We couldn’t be prouder,” Mulligan said.

No details were released on the circumstances of how the child came in contact with the drug.

The case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Lavender.

Information about the defendants’ legal representation was not immediately available.

Anyone with information about this or related matters is urged to contact MCPO Detective Jose I. Rodriguez at 800-533-7443 or Hazlet Police Department Detective Steven Venticinque at 732-264-6565.